Torpedo tube



Dec. 18, 1934. N. E. METHLIN TORPEDO TUBE Filed Feb. 21, 1955 5 SheetsSheet 1 W MYMW.

A7 7 URNEY-S.

Dec. 18, 1934. v METHUN 1,985,184

TORPEDO TUBE Filed Feb. 21, 1933 I5 Sheets-Sheet 2 N. E. METHLIN Dec. 18, 1934.

TORPEDO TUBE Filed Feb. 21, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Dec. 18, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

to Schneider & Cie.,

Paris, France, a limited joint-stock company of France Application February 21, 1933, Serial No. 657,84 In France May 11, 1932 12 Claims.

This invention relates to a device for ejecting torpedoes from a torpedo tube by means of air or another fluid under pressure. This device is of the well known type comprising a free piston movable in the tube, on the rear face of which acts the ejection fluid, whilst with its front face it drives before it the torpedo with the rear end of which it is in contact.

With the well known devices of this type it is necessary to use a torpedo tube bored out on its inner wall so as to be able to ensure a tight joint between the ejector piston and the said wall.

The present invention makes it possible to effect the ejection or discharge by means of a free piston without it being necessary to use a torpedo tube with a bored-out inner wall. The invention presents the additional important advantage of reducing to a considerable extentthe quantity of air required for the ejection for a given tube.

To that end, according to the invention, the free piston is constituted by a series of elements telescopically mounted within each other, stops of any desired suitable kind being provided at a suitable intermediate point of the torpedo tube for arresting the rear element of this piston during the ejection.

Owing to the use of a loose piston with elements fitted in each other, the chamber which is freed by this piston driving the torpedo in front of it has the total cross-section of the tube only from the point of departure of the piston to the point where its rear element comes in contact with the intermediate'stops. From this moment, the rear element being constituted by a sheath in which are mounted the sheaths of the successive front elements and by a circumferential obturator disc, the ejecting fluid has in front of it, beyond the sheath of the rear element, only a chamber to be filled gradually which is reduced to the diameter of this sheath, and then to the successive diameters of the front elements. In fact, when the telescopic piston will have completely developed or extended. the ejection fluid will have filled the inner chamber of the piston. The annular space between this chamber and the wall of the torpedo tube will form at the same time an expansion chamber for the ejection fluid escaping past the rear obturator disc and held back by the front obturator disc carried by the front tubular element of the telescopic piston, the fluid which has expanded in this annular chamber or chambers will balance the counter-pressure of the water on the front disc, which would tend to bring the piston back to its original contracted position. Besides the advantages just mentioned, this device, like all the devices .with a free piston of the well known type, has the advantage of avoiding any considerable formation of bubbles of the ejection fluid which reveal to the enemy the presence of a submarine or other vessel when the device is used for submerged tubes.

A practical construction according to the invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 shows diagrammatically in longitudinal section, partly in elevation, a general arrangement showing the free telescopic piston in its starting position in a torpedo tube. Figure 2 is a similar section, partly in elevation, showing the telescopic piston expanded at the end of its travel. Figure 3 is a longitudinal section on an enlarged scale of the piston in its contracted position, or, in other words, of the position in which the elements are pushed completely within each other.

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional elevation on line IV-IV of Figure 1 on the same scale as Figure 3, showing the head of the piston, or, in other words, the disc carried by the front element of this piston. Figure 5 is a similar sectional elevation on line V-V of Figure 1, showing the obturator disc carried by the rear element of the telescopic piston and the wedging members for arresting the said element at the intermediate stops. Figure 6 is a sectional elevation on line VI--VI of Figure 5, showing the arresting members in the position which they occupy before the rear element of the telescopic piston meets the stops. 5 Figure 7 is a view similar to that of Figure 6, showing in section on line VII--V1I of Figure 5 the same members in the position which they occupy when the rear element of the piston is arrested.

In Figures 1 and 2, a is a torpedo tube of any well known suitable construction which may be made of sheet metal without necessitating any inner boring out. This tube may comprise in a well known manner guides for the torpedo which in the example illustrated are indicated as being constituted by longitudinal ribs (1 In the front part is provided the packing ring a bored out to the diameter of the torpedo and lining the inner wall of the tube, with which ring will engage, as will be described in the following, the obturator disc carried by the front element of the telescopic piston when the latter reaches the end of its travel of development.

The device comprises, again in the usual man- 5 used for the launching or discharge, which communicates withthe rear of the tube a through a pipe b on which is mounted the discharge valve 11 A pipe a is used for the exhaust, to the interior of the vessel in case of applicationto submarines, of the air which, after the discharge of the torpedo, is confined between the breech a ofthe tube and the packing ring a The-tube is closed in front in the usual manner by means of a door a According to the invention, the free piston comprises a series of elements telescopically nested in each other: The front or head element is constituted by a diaphragm 0 formed on a tubular body 0 and comprising, if desired,in its centre a spring-controlled support dF-d for the rear end of the torpedo. This front element is slidably mounted in a tubular element 0 mounted in its turn in a tubular element 0 The end rear tubular element 0 carries on its front edge an obturator screen 0 which separates, without the interposition of a packing joint, the rear chamber a into which the ejection fluid is admitted, from the front chamber which contains the torpedo. One or more intermediate screens such as 0'' may be provided on one or more tubular elements of the telescopic piston. These obturator screens, in the same way as the front obturator c and the rear obturator 0 are of course recessed so as to enable them to pass at their periphery over the guide ribs a as clearly shown in Figures 3, 4 and 5, and over any other inner projections of the tube.

When a torpedo is to be discharged after having put it in place in the tube a, the free telescopic piston, the elements of which are pushed within each other (Figures 1 and 3), is placed behind it in the chamber a The support 11-11 is then in contact with the rear end of the torpedo. The breech of the tube having been closed, fluid under pressure is admitted through the valve b into the chamber a where it acts on the whole of the piston, which moves without extending and drives the torpedo in front of it.

At a suitable intermediate point of the tube is arranged a device for arresting the rear element of the piston. The said device may be built in various ways and comprises to that'end the desired members on the one hand on the torpedo tube and on the other hand on the rear element of the piston which is to be arrested.

In the construction illustrated, the arrangement is such that the arresting is produced by progressive jamming or wedging between the members carried respectively by the tube and by the rear element of the piston. 'As shown in Figures 5 to '7, the wedging or jamming members carried by the rear element of the piston are constituted in the construction illustrated by two pairs of shoes e mounted each on a pin e projecting from the corresponding pin of a lever or finger 1 against the free end of which rests a spring controlled pusher g-g movable in a sleeve a secured to the rear obturator disc 0 The pins f are movably mounted in a support h which in its turn is longitudinally movable on a guide rod h terminating in front in a head h the said rod being attached to the disc a When, during the movement for ejection of the torpedo, the shoes e of the rear element of the free telescopic piston meet with two ramps 0." formed on the guide ribs a and arranged in the horizontal plane passing through the axis of the torpedo, the said shoes e are forced to follow the said ramps and turn the eccentric fingers which ner, a tank b containing fluid under pressure compress the springs g A progressive jamming thus takes place between theshoes e andthe ramps, from the beginning of which the resistance'to advance offered to the rear element of the telescopic piston produces a development or extension of the front element of the same.

The element 0 on the centre of which acts the.

termediate disc or screen c carried by the element 0 During the development or extension of the piston, there are thus formed two annular chambers 1 and 2 which owing to the clearance existing between the circumference of the discs 0, c and c and the inner wall of the tube collect the leakages. There is formed in short between thesaid chambers 1 and 2 and the external medium an equilibrium of pressure which makes possible an unimpeded development or expansion of the piston.

It will be seen that the space of the two annular chambers 1 and 2 instead of being filled with the fluid at the pressure of the tank b, is charged merely with the leakage fluid of a very much lower pressure, owing to whichit is possible to effect a very appreciable economy of the fluid under'pressure with which the tank b is charged. Finally, as already stated, the absence of the necessity for a tight joint between the piston and the inner wall of the torpedo tube makes it possible to use a tube that has not been bored out, just as it comes from the tube works, which means an economy in manufacture and does away with diificulties in construction.

The return of the piston to its initial position with the reengagement of the elements in each other, takes place under the action of the pressure of the water as soon as, after the valve b has been closed, the valve i (Figure 1) is opened in order to allow the fluid contained in the tube to escape into the interior of the vessel.

Where the device described is intended for use with torpedo tubes which are not submerged, a coiled cable may be provided in the interior of the tubular element 0 attached with one of its ends to the bottom of the rest d and with the other end to the breech or to any other suitable point. There may be further provided a pipe branched from the pipe 12 and opening towards the front end of the tube, to the rear of the front door a the said pipe being provided with a closing cock. It would thus be possible to ensure the return of the piston by the action of the fluid under pressure of the tank b. The mobility of the supports it facilitates the movement of reentering of the piston and, for that purpose, the loosening between the shoe'e and the ramps a". In fact, the disc 0 recoils under the action of the pressure of the water and produces expansion of the springs g, the fingers and the shoes remaining at first in the position which they occupy in Figure 7. When the heads h meet the supports it, they drive the said supports with them, the loosening being then produced by the expansion of the springs, the tension of which keeps the shoes pressed against the ramps until that moment.

The installation may comprise, of course, in the usual manner, if so desired, means which automatically ensure at the desired moment the opening and closing respectively of thevalves b and i.

The constructional details of the free telescopic piston may vary, and discs 0, c and 0" a support for the telescopic piston and enabling the latter to be brought into the interior of the tube as well as to be withdrawn from the latter.

I claim: t s

1. In a torpedo tube, the combination of a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically nested in one another and provided'with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the

front and rearmost elements of said piston each having an obturator disc with a periphery substantially corresponding to the'inner surface of said tube, the front element also being closed at its forward end, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind the obturator, disc of said rearmost element of the piston to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, stop means carried by the tube at a point intermediate its ends for arresting movement of said rearmost element during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube, and a packing ring bored out to the diameter of the torpedo and secured to the inner wall of said tube adjacent the forward end thereof in such position as to be engaged by the obturator disc of said front element when the piston is in fully extended position and thereby prevent escape of the motive fluid through the outer end of the tube.

2. In a torpedo tube, the combination of a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically nested in one another and provided with meansfor limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the front and rearmost elements of said piston each having an obturator disc with a periphery substantially corresponding to the inner surface of said tube, said tube being of a substantially uniform diameter throughout the path of travel of said piston therethrough, the front element of said pistonbeing closed at its forward end and carrying a resilient rest for the rear end of the torpedo, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind the abturator disc of said rearmost element of the piston to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and stop means carried by the tube at a point intermediate its ends for arresting movement of said rearmost element during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube.

3. In a torpedo tube, the combination of a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically nested in one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the front and rearmost elements of said piston each having an obturator disc with a periphery substantially corresponding to the inner surface of said tube, a wall across the interior of and closing the forward end of said front element, a resilient rest for the rear end of the torpedo housed between the wall and the obturator discof said front element, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind the obturator disc of said rearmost element of the piston to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and stop means carried by the tube at a point intermediate itsends for arresting movement of said rearmost element during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in r succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube.

4. In a torpedo tube, the combination of a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular. elements telescopically nested in one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the front element being closed at is forward end, means for supplying-a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind the rearmost element of said piston to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and means for arresting movement of the rearmost element of said piston at a point intermediate the ends of said tube during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube, said arresting means comprising a friction member carried by said rearmost element, a cooperating friction member carried by the tube, and means for progressively increasing the pressure between said friction membars as said rearmost element approaches the point at which its movement is to terminate.

5. In .a torpedo tube, the combination of a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube under the action of a fluid under pressure supplied to the tube behind said piston, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically nested in one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the front element being closed at its forward end and means for arresting movement of the rearmost element of said piston at a point intermediate the ends of said tube during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the'torpedo from the tube, said arresting means comprising friction shoes carried by said rearmost element, longitudinal ribs formed on the interior of said tube for guiding'the torpedo therein, and inclined friction surfaces formed on said ribs in the paths of travel of said friction shoes and adjacent the point at which the movement of said rearmost element is to terminate. Y

6. In a torpedo launching device of the type embodying a freely movable piston in a torpedo tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube under the action of a fiuid under pressure supplied to the tube behind said piston, means for arresting the movement of said piston within the tube during ejection of the torpedo therefrom comprising a plurality of friction shoes carried by said piston, longitudinal ribs formed on the interior of the tube for guiding the torpedo therein, and inclined friction surfaces formed on said ribs in the paths of travel of said friction shoes for progressively increasing the resistance to movement of said piston as it approaches the point at which its movement is to terminate.

7.,In a torpedo launching device of the type embodying a freely movable piston in a torpedo tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube under the action of a fluid under pressure supplied to the tube behind said piston, means for arresting the movement of said piston within the tube during ejection of the torpedo therefrom comprising a plurality of pairs of friction shoes carried by said piston, longitudinal ribs formed on the interior of the tube for guiding the torpedo therein, and inclined friction surfaces formed on opposite sides of each of said ribs in the paths of travel of said pairs of friction shoes, the inclined surfaces of each of said ribs becoming wedged between a pair of said shoes and thereby arresting movement of said piston.

8. In a torpedo launching device of the type embodying a freely movable piston in a torpedo tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube under the action of a fluid under pressure supplied to the tube behind said piston, means for arresting the movement of said piston within the tube during ejection of the torpedo therefrom comprising a plurality of friction shoes carried by said piston and mounted for pivotal movement relative thereto, means carried by said piston for yieldingly resisting pivotal movement of said shoes, longitudinal ribs formed on the interior of the tube for guiding the torpedo therein, and inclined friction surfaces formed on said ribs in the paths of travel of said friction shoes.

9. In a torpedo launching device of the type embodying a freely movable piston in a torpedo tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube under the action of a fluid under pressure supplied to the tube behind said piston, means for arresting the movement of said piston within the tube during ejection ofthe torpedo therefromcomprising a rod carried by and projecting outwardly fromsaidpiston, a support longitudinally movable on said rod, a pin journalled in said support, a friction shoe eccentrically mounted on said pin, a lever secured to said pin, the free end of said lever engaging a yieldable member carried by said piston, and an inclined friction surface formed on the interior of said tube in the path of travel of said friction shoe and adjacent the point at which movement of said piston is to terminate.

10. A device for launching torpedoes comprising a torpedo tube of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, a freely movable piston within said tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically associated with one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the diameter of each of said elements being materially smaller than that of said tube, the front element being closed at its forward end, an obturator disc carried by the rearmost element of said piston and having a peripherysubstantially corresponding to the inner surface of said tube, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind said obturator disc to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and means for arresting movement of the rearmost element of said piston at a point intermediate the ends of the tube during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube.

11. A device for launching torpedoes comprising a torpedo tube of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, a freely movable piston within said tube adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically associated with one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the diameter of each of said elements being materially smaller than that of said tube, the front element being closed at its forward end, an obturator disc carried by the rearmost element of said piston and having a periphery substantially corresponding to the inner surface of said tube, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind said obturator disc to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and stop means carried by the tube at a point intermediate its ends for arresting movement of the rearmost element of said piston during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube.

12. A device for launching torpedoes comprising a torpedo tube of substantially uniform diameter throughout its length, a freely movable piston adapted to engage the rear end of a torpedo and to eject the latter from the tube, said piston comprising a plurality of tubular elements telescopically associated with one another and provided with means for limiting the extension of each element relative to the others, the rearmost and at least one other element of said piston each having an obturator disc with a periphery substantially corresponding to the inner surface of said tube, the front element being closed at its forward end, means for supplying a fluid under pressure to the tube at a point behind the obturator disc of the rearmost element ofthe piston to cause initial movement of all of the elements of the piston as a unit, and means for arresting movement of said rearmost element at a point intermediate the ends of the tube during ejection of the torpedo, the remaining elements thereafter extending themselves in succession and completing ejection of the torpedo from the tube.

NICOLAS EMILIEN METHLIN. 

